1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to printed circuit boards and, in particular, to encapsulating a printed circuit board in a transparent housing.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many packaging variations for integrated circuits exist in the semiconductor industry. Integrated circuits are typically packaged to protect the chips from the environment and handling damage, to define interconnections into and out of the chip, to support the chip and to provide heat dissipation. The packaged chip is then incorporated into a printed circuit board. The more common packaging processes, such as plastic packaging techniques, completely encapsulate the wirebonded die and lead-frame in a molding process. The printed circuit board is then incorporated into a final product.
Printed circuit boards are not encapsulated as the printed circuit boards are typically incorporated into a box, e.g., a computer frame, in a manner that allows the printed circuit board to be removable. With the proliferation of computers and computing devices, it has become desirable to demonstrate the components of printed circuit boards. However, a bare printed circuit board is fragile and will not stand up to the wear and tear experienced when used as a demonstration model. Furthermore, the power supply connection to the printed circuit board and other wired connections tend to deteriorate, i.e., break loose, over time through the repeated demonstrations and constant moving around of the demonstration model.
As a result, there is a need to provide a demonstration model for a printed circuit board capable of repeatedly illustrating the features of the integrated circuits of the printed circuit board in an aesthetic manner.